Brothers United
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Takes place after 4 year of Harry Potter and during season 7 of Buffy.  In order to further his plans fot the 'greater good' Dumbledore got rid of the oldest Potter child.  What happens when 14 years later Xander Harris begins to remember a different life
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any of their characters.**

**A/N: For the purpose of this story, Harry was born in 1988 and Xander in 1982. **

**Brothers United**

When Albus Dumbledore arrived at the Potters' home in Godric's Hollow, he found the Potters dead and their youngest son with a lightening bolt scar on his head. He smiled. Everything was going according to plan. The prophecy had begun to come to pass.

Albus turned as he heard a noise coming from the closet. When he went over and opened it, he found 7 year old Alexander Potter hiding.

Albus sighed. This complicated things. He'd never expected the older Potter child to survive. He'd been counting on the fact. For his plan to work, Harry needed to be cut off from everyone that loved him. That wouldn't work if the boy's older brother was around. He needed to get rid of the boy.

**Xxxxxxxxxxx**

An hour later, Albus found himself in a small house in Sunnydale, California. He'd chosen to bring the child to America because he wanted the children to be as far away from each other as possible.

He laid the boy down in one of the bedrooms. "I'm sorry, my boy. But I can't have you ruining my plans." He then carefully erased the boy's memories of the Potters and replaced them with new ones. Now all he needed to do was alter the memories of the boy's 'parents'. No one would ever now that Alex Potter had survived.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"Lily and James are dead?" asked a devastated Remus. The headmaster had called him to his office not long ago and told him what happened at Godric's Hollow.

"I'm so sorry, my boy," Albus said.

"Sirius is responsible?"

"I'm afraid so." Albus told him. It wasn't true. Albus knew that Sirius was not the Potter's secret keeper, but that knowledge could not get out. If it did, Sirius would try to get custody of Harry. He could not let that happen.

"What about Alex?" Remus asked. He prayed that at the very least Alex had survived. That he would still have both his cubs. That Harry would still have his big brother.

"I'm afraid young Alex didn't survive."

Remus was about ready to go strangle Sirius with his bare hands. The man had not only gotten their friends killed, but also an innocent little boy.

Reumus took a few deep breaths to try to keep his emotions in check. "Where's Harry?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you," the headmaster said.

"What do you mean you can't tell me?" Remus asked angrily.

"It's for his own safety. No one can know where he is. You want him safe, don't you? He asked, preying on the man's love for the child.

"You promise he's safe where he is?" Remus asked.

"Of course, my boy."


	2. Chapter 2

_14 years later_

Xander Harris tossed and turned in his bed. It seemed he was having an intense dream.

_Dream_

"_Lily, it's him, take the boys and go. I'll hold him off," A__man with messy black hair and glasses said._

_Xander watched as a women who must have been Lily, who was also carrying a baby, grabbed his hand. They went into a room that looked like a nursery._

_Lily looked around frantically for some kind of escape. She then set her eyes on a nearby closet._

_Xander felt himself being pulled over to it._

_Lily opened the door. "Alex, you hide in here with your brother," she said placing him inside. Before she could put the baby in, a dark figure approached. Lily slammed the door closed._

_Xander listened to the muffled sounds of yelling outside the closet. He felt himself open the door slightly. He saw a green light directed at Lily._

_End Dre_am

Xander jolted up in his bed. He'd had that same dream three times this week. He didn't know why, but it really freaked him out. For one, it seemed so real. Until recently, he'd never had a dream like that before.

He also felt like something bad happened. Like the light he saw was bad. He couldn't explain it though. It was just weird. So weird in fact that he was thinking of telling Giles about it. If someone was messing with him or something, maybe he'd know about it.

Xander decided to get some more sleep. He'd go over to Buffy's tomorrow to talk to Giles about his dream.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, Xander walked in the back door of Buffy's house. He found everyone in the kitchen. "Hey, guys."

"Hey Xander," Buffy and Willow said at the same time.

Xander went over to the kitchen table, where Giles was drinking a cup of tea. "Hey G man, mind if I pick your brain on something."

"Xander, How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? What is it?" Giles asked.

Xander sat across from him. "I've been having these dreams lately. Well, actually it's just one repetitive dream. But it feels weird.

"What's it about? Why does it seem weird to you?" Giles asked, giving Xander his full attention.

"I'm in this house with these people. I think I'm really young. Like a little kid. Anyway, something happens and the woman drags me to this closet and tells me to hide. I guess I can't help myself though because I open the door a little. When I do, I see this green light." He explained.

Giles nearly dropped his tea when he heard this. He knew all too well what green light meant. If Xander saw that light directed at someone, then this dream was not really a dream. It was a memory. Xander had watched someone die.

"You okay, Giles? You look like you just saw a ghost," Buffy commented.

Giles ignored her and focused on Xander. "Do you remember what happened next?"

"That's it. I wake up as soon as I see the light," Xander told him. "So, any ideas?"

That told Giles that maybe it wasn't a good idea to tell him the truth. If Xander couldn't fully remember, it was probably because he didn't want to. Telling him might do more harm than good. "No, but I'll look into it." It wasn't a complete lie. He would look into it. He wanted to know how a muggle child came into contact with wizards.


	3. Chapter 3

_Xander was being carried by someone through what looked to be a hospital. He wasn't sure who it was, but whoever was holding him had strong arms and he trusted him._

_Soon they entered a hospital room, where the woman Xander recognized from previous dreams was laying in bed holding a baby. Lily, he remembered was her name._

"_Hi, Remus," a man said to the man who was holding him. He then turned to Xander. "Hey, Pronglet. Come here," he said holding out his arms._

"_Daddy," Xander heard himself say in a British accent before going into the man's arms._

_Xander was then carried closer to the bed, where he got a better look at the woman and baby._

_Lily smiled at him. "Hey, sweetie. This is your brother, Harry."_

"_He's small," Xander commented._

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Xander jolted awake. "OhmygodI'mBritish!" Xander exclaimed in one long word. When he looked around, he saw Buffy, Willow, and Giles looking at him like he was nuts. "Weird dream."

"You had another dream?" asked a worried Giles.

"It was different this time though. It was the same people, but we were in a hospital," Xander said.

"Did you see the green light again?" Giles probed.

"No, just people. But it was weird. I seemed to know them. I recognized one of them as my father and the woman called the baby my brother," he explained. "The thing is though, the guy wasn't my father and I don't have a brother."

Everyone noticed that Giles looked to be in deep thought.

"Giles, what is it?" Buffy asked.

Giles turned to Xander. "Xander, I don't think these dreams are really dreams. The green light you described the other day sounded like a spell."

"Is that why it seemed so freaky? Why it seemed bad?" Xander asked.

"It was bad. What you saw was the killing curse," he told him.

Xander was shocked. "Are you saying I saw someone die?"

"Most likely, yes," Giles replied. That's probably why you don't remember. Your mind blocked it out.

"But that doesn't make sense with the other dream. Why would I calling someone who isn't my father 'Daddy'?"

"Could you be adopted?" Buffy asked.

"That would be cool, but I highly doubt it," Xander replied. It wouldn't bother him if he were adopted. He pretty much hated the parents he had so it wouldn't mean much to him.

"There is a way to find out," Willow said. "I could go into his mind like I did with Buffy a couple years ago."

"You want to go inside my head?" Xander asked. It was a little unsettling to think about his best friend poking around inside his brain.

"No, it's not a good idea. There's a reason he can't remember," Giles said.

"Giles, I'm not suggesting we make him remember. I could just go in and find out exactly what is affecting his memory," Willow explained.

Xander thought about it. He didn't' like the idea of Willow walking around inside his head, but he really needed to know what was happening to him. "Do it."


	4. Chapter 4

Giles walked over to Xander with a glass with some sort of liquid in it. "Drink this. It will put you to sleep."

"What's in it?" Xander asked.

"You don't want to know," Giles said. "Just drink it all.

Xander took the drink and started drinking. By the time he was finished, he was cringing. "Oh, God, that's gross."

"You'll want to lay down now," Giles said.

Xander spread out on the couch. "What now?"

"You'll go to sleep and I'll enter your mind," Willow told him. "Don't worry, it will be kinda like a dream," she told him when she saw the apprehensive look he was giving her.

Xander closed his eyes and started to drift off.

"Xander," Willow called.

There was no response.

"Go ahead, Willow. He's out. Just be careful," Giles warned.

Willow dropped her head a little and closed her eyes.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Willow found herself in what looked to be a big house. She went down a hallway, which held a bunch of rooms. Willow was sure each room held Xander's memories.

Willow opened the first door and found herself in Sunnydale High. That was definitely not what she was looking for, so she exited the room.

The next room she went in revealed something strange to her. At first it was epty, but then images appeared. They were memories, but it was different than other memories. It was almost like they just appeared out of thin air. "This isn't real," she muttered to herself. They were memories of Xander's family, but just didn't seem right.

Willow exited the room and tried to enter another one, but she couldn't. Something was blocking her from entering the room. She probably could've gotten in if she really wanted. The block was already breaking a little, but she told Giles she wouldn't do something like that. It might do Xander more harm than good.

Willow exited The room and started for the door to Xander's mind. She'd seen what she came to see. It was time to leave.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Willow's head jolted upright.

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

"Something isn't right with his mind," Willow told them.

"What is it?" asked a worried Giles.

"There's definitely a block on his memory," she said.

"Well, we knew that. It makes sense. He watched at least one person die," Giles said.

"This is different though. I don't think this is something he blocked out. I think someone wanted him to forget," Willow told them.

"What do you mean, Will?" Buffy asked.

"The way his mind is screams memory spell. There's a block on some of his memory, while other's seem to be fabricated," she explained.

"Fabricated?" Giles asked.

"Yeah. It seems like someone put them there," Willow said.

Giles started to worry. He couldn't understand why someone would alter Xander's memory. There had been instances in the wizarding world where someone's memory's needed to be altered, but Xander had been a child when this happened. That was illegal. Why would someone risk Azkaban for something like that.

"I'm going to contact a friend," he said. He needed to get someone from the wizarding world there as soon as possible. Maybe they would know what was going on.


	5. Chapter 5

Buffy opened her front door to find a man with long dark hair, pale skin, and was dressed in all black at the front door. She looked at him for a minute before turning behind her. "Giles, since when do vampires come to the front door!"

A second later, Giles came over. "Severus, thank you for coming."

"You know this guy?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, he's an old classmate of mine. I've asked here to help Xander," Giles said.

"Can we get this over with Rupert?" Severus asked. He had better things to do than to make small talk with muggles and a vampire slayer.

"Of course. Come in," Giles said.

Severus walked into the house. When he did, he noticed two young people sitting on the couch. One was a red headed girl. The other was a boy who looked way too much like James Potter for his liking. It wasn't as obvious as it was with Harry Potter, but there was a strong resemblance.

"Severus, these are Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg, and Xander Harris. Everyone, this is Severus Snape," Giles introduced.

"Is he the guy that's supposed to fix my mind?" Xander asked.

"Yes. He's skilled in entering the mind," Giles said.

"Oh, he's going to into my mind too," Xander groaned. He hated it when Willow entered his mind. He certainly didn't want some stranger doing it.

"It's the only way, Xander," Giles said.

"Before I illegally enter a muggle's mind, care to tell me why I'm doing it?" Severus asked.

"It seems that there are glitches in Xander's memory. He has some sort of block on it. He also seems to have some fabricated memories," Giles explained. He then leaned in closer to Severus so no one else would hear. "By the way, I don't think he's a muggle. One memory that he seems to be regaining is of green light. That topped off to the fact that a wizard had to have altered his memory tells me that he is likely a wizard."

Severus had to admit that that did sound good. Peopled didn't put those kind of spells on another person for no reason. Something wasn't right here. "Alright. I'll do it."

Xander stood up from his place on the couch. "What exactly are you going to do?"

"I'm going to enter your mind. You'll know I'm in there. You'll be reliving the memories as well. Because there are blocks on your memory, I'll probably have to go pretty deep. Once I've found the block, I'll destroy it," Severus explained.

"Severus, are you sure that's wise. We don't know what is going on here. What remembering all this will do to him," Giles said. He was really worried that they would end up causing Xander more harm than good.

"If his mind was blocking these memories by itself, I'd agree. But that's not the case. Someone placed those blocks on him," he said.

"I need to know, Giles," Xander said. He was terrified of having someone walking around in his head, but he needed all this to stop. "I'm ready."

"Sit down," Severus ordered.

Xander did what he was told.

Severus took out his wand and pointed it at Xander. _"Legilimens._

Soon Severus found himself sifting through the boy's memories. First, he saw typical things. Such as going to school, working, and being with friends. Then he saw not so typical things, like fighting vampires and other creatures.

Severus delved in further. He needed to find that Block. He found himself observing the boy's childhood memories. That was when he noticed. The boy he was seeing as a child was Lily's little boy. It was hers and Potter's son Alexander.

Severus was shocked to say the least. He'd been told that Alexander Potter had been killed by Voldemort the day of the attack. But here he was alive and well. The question was, how? And why had someone put blocks on his mind.

Speaking of the block, Severus finally found it. It was like an invisible wall that he couldn't get past. "_Diffindo."_ he chanted. He then tried to walk through again, but it repelled him back. "_Reducto." _He then tried to go through again. This time the block was weakened, but it was still there._ "Reducto. Reducto." _He tried once more. This time he was able to get through. He'd destroyed the barrier.

Severus was bombarded by the memories of the child. He saw a five year old boy in Lily lap. He saw that same boy in James arms while Lily was in a hospital bed. He saw him hiding in closet while Lily was murdered. It was all true. Xander Harris was really Alexander Potter.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Xander felt a plethora of memories flow through him. It was overwhelming. He remembered his parents tucking him in. His Uncles playing with him. Meeting his little brother for the first time. Watching his mother die. "Oh god."

"Xander, what is? What's wrong?" Willow asked.

"My mom," Xander said. He could hardly believe it. He'd watched his mother die. He now felt everything that went with that. His mother was dead and he'd seen it happen.

"What about her?" Buffy asked.

"Severus, what happened?" Giles asked.

"I destroyed the block. My guess is he's reeling from remembering having watched his mother's murder," Severus said.

"He watched his mom die?" asked a horrified Buffy. She'd come home to find her mother dead, but she couldn't even imagine what it must have been like to see one of your parents murdered.

"She told me to hide. She said not to come out. But :I opened the door. That's when he killed," said an emotional Xander before looking up at Severus. "Did he kill my father too? My brother?"

"Your father is dead. Your brother is not. Somehow he survived," Severus told him.

"Wait. You knew his parents, Severus?" Giles asked.

Severus turned to his old friend. "I did. So did you. Rupert, meet Alexander Potter."


	6. Chapter 6

Giles was quite surprised to hear that Xander was a Potter. He'd assumed Harry Potter was the only living Potter. When he looked at Xander though, he could see Potter features in him. They weren't that noticeable, but they were there. "Dear Lord."

"Wait, what's a Potter?" Buffy asked.

"It's my name. My last name," Xander said.

"Xander, are you alright?" Giles asked.

"Xander, are you alright?" Giles asked.

"I don't know. I've got two sets of memories inside my head. You know, I remember to versions of my seventh birthday. One was pretty much spent by myself. The other was with my parents, uncles, and baby brother," Xander said.

"You have a little brother?" Willow asked.

Xander nodded. "I think he'd be about fifteen now." He was still having a hard time believing all of this. In a matter of minutes, his life had changed dramatically. Yesterday, he'd been an only child with sucky parents. Now he remembered a brother and two loving parents. It was a little much to take in. He wondered about his brother. Was Harry safe? Was he happy? "Where is he? Where's Harry?"

"He's with your mother's family in England," Severus answered.

"Xander's from England?" asked a surprised Willow.

"He is indeed," Giles said as he sat on the couch next to Xander.

"Why did this happen? Who would want to mess with my mind this way? Xander asked. He didn't understand why someone would want to erase his memories of who he really was.

"That's a very good question. What's the last thing you remember of your life as Alexander Potter?" Giles questioned.

"I remember seeing this old guy that my parents knew. Dumblefork or something like that," he replied.

"Dumbledore," Giles growled. Needless to say, he was not a fan of Albus Dumbledore's. The man was way to manipulative and controlling for his liking.

"Yeah, that was it," Xander realized. "You know him?"

"Unfortunately," Giles muttered.

"I take it you're not a fan?" Buffy asked.

"That's an understatement. Albus Dumbledore is nothing but a conniving, manipulative old fool," Giles said.

"You really believe it was the headmaster that messed with the boy?" Severus asked. He didn't want to believe it. He trusted Dumbledore. He didn't want to believe him capable of messing with a child's mind.

"I don't see any other possibility, Severus. He was the last person Xander saw," he responded.

"Why? Why would he do this to me?" Xander asked desperately.

Giles hesitated. He wasn't sure how Xander would take the news of who his brother was. He wasn't even sure what Xander remembered about his old life. "Xander, how much do you remember about the world you used to live in?"

"You mean do I remember magic," Xander clarified. He did remember the wizarding world some what. It probably should be more shocking to him, but it wasn't. It was probably a combination of his early memories and the fact that he already knew that magic existed. A whole world of magic wasn't that big of a stretch.

"I'll take that as a yes then."

"Xander already knew about magic. I'm a witch," Willow said.

"It's a bit different, Willow. Xander and I are from an entire world of magic. We have our own, shops, our own banks, our own government, etc.," Giles explained.

"You too, Giles?" Xander asked surprised. He didn't know that Giles was a wizard.

"Yes. I was actually a few years ahead of your parents in school," Giles told him.

"You knew my parents?" asked a shocked Xander.

"I crossed paths with them a few times," Giles said uncomfortably. He hadn't been a big fan of James Potter's while they were in school.

"So where is this world you're talking about?" Buffy asked curiously.

"It's all around us.. You just can't see it because it's invisible to muggles," Giles replied.

"What's a muggle?" Willow asked.

"A non-magical person."

"Then Why can't I see it? I'm a witch," Willow said.

"It's different. You practice magic. It was a learned magic. Xander and I were born with magic," Giles said.

"So Xander's a witch?" Buffy asked.

"He's a wizard. Males are called wizards," he said.

"You still haven't answered my question. Why would this Dumbledore guy mess with my mind?" Xander asked again.

"To isolate your younger brother. Xander your brother Harry is known as the Boy Who Lived. He's famous for being the only person to ever survive the killing curse. For that reason he's believed to be the one capable of defeating an evil dark lord. Dumbledore would want to control him, and the only way to do that is to isolate him from the people who care about him," Giles explained

"There's also the Potter fortune. With you out of the way, he controls your family's money until your brother is seventeen," Severus added.

"Fortune? Xander's rich," Buffy asked surprised.

Giles nodded. "The Potters are a very old family. Xander, as James potter's first born son, is very rich."

Xander felt anger build up inside of him. People were using his little brother for their own purposes? There was no way he was going to let that continue. He stood up from his place on the couch. "I want to see my brother."


	7. Chapter 7

Buffy walked downstairs the next day and saw Xander sitting in the kitchen deep in thought, and Giles standing in the doorway of kitchen. She walked over to Giles. "How's he doing?"

"Not well, I imagine," Giles answered.

"He doesn't look like he got much sleep," Buffy commented.

"I doubt he did. My guess is that he's been thinking about his parents," Giles said. "You see, Buffy, Xander's parents might have died many years ago, but he was unable to grieve for them. It's as if they just died. Not to mention he watched his mother die right in front of him at the age of Seven. That's more than anyone should have to endure."

"And I thought my life was screwed up. So when does he get to see brother?" Buffy asked. She had a feeling that that was the only thing that would make Xander feel even remotely better.

"Tonight. Severus is going to bring him here. In the meantime, I'm going to take Xander to the wizarding bank in England. Xander's getting what's his tonight," Giles said firmly. He was not going to allow Dumbledore to take anything else from Xander.

"How do you expect to get to and from England in one day?" Buffy asked.

"We're going to apparate," Giles replied.

"What?" she asked in confusion.

"It's a means of transportation for Wizards. Sort of like teleportation," Giles said.

"Wait you can transport yourself from place to place in a matter of seconds? How come you've never used it?" Buffy wondered. That kind of gift would've come in handy in their line of work.

"I left that world a long time ago, Buffy. There were many issues in that world and I was getting really tired of dealing with him," Giles explained. The wizarding world was filled with some of the same issues as the muggle one, but it was much worse there than in the muggle world.

"You wanted a clean break," Buffy realized.

"Exactly."

"So what will happen now? With Xander and his brother, I mean," Buffy asked.

"That's up to Xander, But my guess is that he will chose to isolate himself and his brother from that world," Giles replied. He really didn't see Xander wanting to return to that world. Not after what Dumbledore had done to him.

"Won't that guy try to stop him?" Buffy asked. She was referring to the guy that messed with Xander's mind.

"Dumbledore will stop Xander from creating a life with Harry over my dead body," Giles vowed. He would never allow that meddling old man to come between those boys again. He would kill him first.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"Tell me again why we have to do this," Xander said as he and Giles entered Gringotts. He really didn't care about the money he was supposed to have inherited. He just wanted to see his little brother.

"Xander, I realize that you don't care about the money or titles right now, but eventually everything is going to sink in eventually. When that happens you're going to need to be established as the Potter hear. Not only for your sake, but for your brother's as well," Giles told him.

"What do you mean?"

"With the Potter name comes power. You're going to need that power to fight Dumbledore. When Dumbledore realizes that his plan has failed, he's going to do everything he can to try to separate you and your brother. The only way you'll have a chance of stopping him is if you solidify your place in this world," Giles explained.

"What if I don't want to be a part of this world," Xander asked. He really had no desire to be a part of a world that messed with his mind and made him forget his family.

"Xander, I understand that you probably don't want any part of this world, but even if you decide to abandon it, people here need to know who you are," he said.

"The title and fortune really come with that much power?" Xander asked.

"Well, not as much as Dumbledore, but once you're established as Lord Potter, he won't be able to get away with as much,' Giles answered.

"How long will this take?" Xander asked. He was really anxious to see Harry.

"Xander, I promise, by the time this day is over, you will be with your brother."

"Alright. Let's get this over with," Xander said.

They approached the main counter at Gringotts, where a goblin was waiting. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, we need to speak with the bank manager," Giles said.

"On what business?" the goblin asked.

"It's a private matter," Giles said.

"Follow me," the goblin said.

They were taken to a back office, where a goblin was sitting at a desk. "These two need to speak with you, Ragnok," the goblin who led them said.

"Well, what is it?"

"We're here because there seems to be a problem with one of your accounts," Giles said.

"Are you accusing us of making a mistake?" Ragnok asked indignantly.

"No, of course not. I know Gringott's reputation quite well. It was not the bank's fault. Nevertheless, it needs to be corrected," Giles said.

"And what mistake would that be?"

Giles put his hand on Xander's shoulder. "This young man is the heir to a very old family and has been denied what is rightfully his."

"That's a very serious accusation, sir. To what family does he belong?" Ragnok asked.

"Potter."

"It is my understanding that Mister Harry Potter is the only living Potter left," Ragnok said.

"Unfortunately, you and most of the magical world were misled," Giles said.

"Misled by whom?" Ragnok asked angrily. He didn't take to kindly to being manipulated, or to the reputation of Gringott's being compromised.

"It is my believe that it was by Albus Dumbledore," Giles said. "We of course know that it is not Gringotts fault. We just wish to correct this horrid mistake."

"First we must establish that Mr. Potter is who he says he is. Follow me."

Giles and Xander followed Ragnok out of his office and into a small room. There were then led over to a table, where a Piece of parchment was set up. "Hold out your finger Mr. Potter," Ragnok said as picked up a small knife."

Xander looked at Giles for assurance.

"They need your blood to confirm who you are," Giles explained.

Xander did what he was told and was immediately greeted with a prick to his index finger. He winced in pain for a second.

"Now place it on the parchment for a moment."

Xander pressed his bleeding finger on the parchment for a few seconds before letting go. Once he did, the blood disappeared from the page and was replaced by a name.

ALEXANDER CHARLUS POTTER

"It seems you are who you say you are, Mr. Potter. I must apologize on behalf of Gringotts for this terrible injustice," Ragnok said.

"It isn't your fault. Just tell me what I need to do to fix it," Xander said.

"You've already done it. You established your identity. You will now be listed as the Potter heir. We do unfortunately have an issue. If Albus Dumbledore truly is responsible for this, he has been stealing from you. He's taken Millions from you in the last fourteen years. Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to get that money back to you," Ragnok assured him.

"Do I have money left?" Xander wondered.

"Believe me, Xander, you have more than enough money left. The Potter's are a very rich family. You could spent thousands from every day for the rest of your life and you'd still have plenty left over," Giles said.

"He's right. What Mr. Dumbledore took from you doesn't even put a dent in your vaults. Speaking of which, would you like to see them now?" Ragnok asked.

"Please."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Xander gaped in shock when he entered his main vault. It was filled with gold. He's never seen that much money before. It seemed Giles was right. He had more money than he could ever dream of spending.

"Xander, I believe this is yours," Giles said as he pointed to a ring.

Xander picked it up. "I've seen this before. My dad showed it me. He said it would be mine one day."

"All Lords have one of these/ Once you put it on, you'll truly be Lord Potter," Giles said.

Xander slowly put the ring on his finger. He didn't know how he felt about being a Lord, but he would keep the ring on, if for no other reason than because it belonged to his father. He then noticed a piece of paper that had been next to it. He picked it up and started reading. He soon learned that it was his parents' Will.

"What is it Xander?" Giles asked.

"My parents' Will. I'll read it later," he replied. "Can we get out of here now?"

"Yes, but we have one more stop t make," Giles said.

Xander sighed. He really just wanted to go back to Buffy's. He wanted to see his brother. "Where?"

"The Ministry. The Minister of magic needs to know that Alexander Potter is alive and well," Giles said. "Come on, lets go."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Severus knocked on the Dursley's front door. Potter answered the door a few seconds later.

"Professor Snape? What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"You need to come with me, Potter," Severus said.

"Come where? Why?" Harry asked.

"Don't ask questions. Just get your things and come with me now," Severus ordered. He really didn't want to be the one to explain to Potter what was going on. He just wanted to deliver the boy to Rupert and be done with it. Besides, Potter would never believe it coming from him.

"Yes sir," Harry said. He didn't like Snape, but if the Professor wanted him to go with him, it was probably because Dumbledore told him to come. Dumbledore trusted him, so Harry did as well. "I'll be right back."

Severus paced the porch until Potter returned a few minutes later. "I'm ready, sir."

"Follow me,"Severus said before leading the way away from the Dursley's residence.


	8. Chapter 8

A few minutes later, Harry found himself standing outside a muggle house with Snape, who rung the doorbell. "Where are we, Professor?"

Harry had barely asked the question when the door was opened by a young blond woman. "Hello again. Come on in," she said in an American accent.

Severus motioned for Harry to step inside.

A very reluctant Harry walked inside. Severus walked in behind him. "Has Rupert returned?" Severus asked. He was hoping he had. He didn't want to spend anymore time catering to Harry Potter.

"Not yet. Giles said they might not be back until dinnertime, which is a couple hours from now,"

"Wonderful," Severus said sarcastically.

"Professor, where are we? Harry asked again.

"Do not ask questions, Potter. Just do what you're told," Severus ordered.

"Oh, come on, he's just looking for answers. I would be if I were in his position too. I'm Buffy by the way?" she said.

"Harry. Where am I?" Harry asked. He didn't know if he should trust her. She was a complete stranger.

"You're at my house in Sunnydale, California," Buffy replied.

"California? As in the states?" Harry asked in shock. It explained the woman's accent, but he thought he was still in Britain.

"That's right," Buffy said.

"Well, what am I doing her? Where's Dumbledore?" he asked

"Okay, listen, I know you have a lot of questions, and I promise they will all be answered soon, but I need you to be patient for right now. Don't worry, you're safe here," Buffy assured him.

Harry snorted. "Well, if I wasn't, would you tell me?"

Buffy chuckled. She was beginning to like this kid. He was smart. "No, I guess not. Look, why don't you just sit down. Your questions will be answered soon. Just have a seat, and wait a couple hours, okay?"

"I don't really have much choice, do I?" Harry asked before sitting down on the couch. He wasn't sure if he truly was safe, but he really had no choice, but to do what the woman said and pray that everything would be alright.

Giles and Xander entered the Minister's office. "Who are you?" Minister Fudge asked.

"I'm Rupert Giles and this is Alexander Potter," Giles introduced.

"Preposterous! Alexander Potter is dead," Fudge said confidently.

"I assure you, he is not. You were misled about his 'death," Giles said.

"That's ridiculous. Do you take me for some kind of fool, sir?" Fudge asked.

_Well, yes, but that's besides the point,_ Giles thought to himself. Everyone that knew him knew that Fudge was an incompetent fool. The man should never have become Minister of Magic. "A test was done at Gringotts to confirm. This is Alexander Potter."

"Impossible. It must be a mistake," Fudge said as continued to deny the truth. If this was indeed the Potter heir, he would be made to look like a fool. Heads would fly when the public found out that the oldest Potter child was alive and well. Then there was the youngest Potter. If this young man truly was a Potter, any hopes he had of controlling Harry Potter were gone. He was hoping to get the boy expelled for the underage magic the boy had used the night before. That would be impossible with a family member actually in his corner. It was bad enough with Dumbledore insisting on a trial, but with Alexander Potter in the fold, it would be impossible."

"I'm sure you are aware that Gringotts doesn't make mistakes," Giles said. He knew Fudge was stupid, but this was pushing it even for him.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Fudge said. Even as he said it though, he knew it wasn't true. The goblins of Gringotts truly didn't make mistakes.

Xander had enough. He was sick of the games this idiot was playing. "Alright, lets cut to the case. What do you want?"

"I'm sorry, I don't believe I'm following you, young man," Fudge said.

"There's a reason you want to cling to the belief that I'm not I say I am, and it's not about you looking like a fool. You want something. Now why don't you tell me what it is?" Xander asked. He knew this guy wanted something from either him or his brother.

"I think it have something to do with this," Giles said as he picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet and showed it to Xander.

Xander took the offered paper and started reading. "'The Boy Who Lies.' Lovely." He was clearly not impressed with the article at all.

"Now, see here, that boy has been spreading awful rumors about You Know Who being back. He is clearly lying for attention, and it needs to stop. The boy also violated the rules for underage wizards. He used magic outside of school," Fudge said.

"Don't tell me you're planning to expel this boy," Giles said

"He broke the rules," Fudge said.

"And why did he use magic? Do you even know?" Giles asked. He had a feeling the man didn't even bother to find out why Harry had used magic outside of school. He just wanted the boy to disappear.

Xander seemed to by thinking the same thing. "He doesn't care, Giles. He just wants him gone. Fine. You want him gone, he's gone."

"W-what?" Fudge asked. He hadn't expected to hear that from the new Potter heir.

"You think I want him here? Why would I want him here? So you can continue to slander his name in the paper? So Dumbledore can continue to manipulate him into doing what he wants? I don't think so," Xander said. He was done allowing these people hurt his little brother. "You want him gone, fine. I'll take him to America with me. You won't have to deal with him anymore. More importantly, he won't have to deal with you. You won't take his wand though. If Harry decided he wants to continue to learn magic in America, he will have that chance."

"Are you saying that as his legal guardian, you'd wave his right to a trial?" Fudge asked hopefully. It was like Christmas had come early. He'd finally found a way to get rid of Harry Potter once and for all.

"As long as you allow him to keep his wand," he said. He knew Harry might be angry at him for doing this, but in the end, he'd be better off. Harry didn't need to be around these idiots. "Do we have a deal?"

"Deal," Fudge said quickly.

"Oh, and there's one more thing," Xander said before taking a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket. "I recently received my parent's Will. In it, my father takes about Secret Keepers."

"Ah, that was the person who was supposed to protect your parents' whereabouts while you all were in hiding. We caught the man. It was Sirius Black. Now, we caught the man, but unfortunately, he escaped a few years ago. Rest assured though, we are doing everything we can to find him," Fudge told him.

Xander of course knew who Sirius Black was. It was his godfather. "Right, well, according to my father, Sirius Black was not the Secret Keeper. A man named Peter Pettigrew was.

Fudge paled. He felt his world falling apart again. When it was just Harry Potter and his friends saying it, he could just say they were bewitched, but he wouldn't be able to ignore the last words of James Potter. "Is that so?"

Xander narrowed his eyes at the man. Something told him that this wasn't the first time this had been brought to the Minister's attention. "Yeah, it is. I expect you'll do something about this."

"Of course," Fudge said. Maybe if he just told the man what he wanted to hear, he would leave, and Fudge could just forget about it.

"Good, because Sirius Black is my godfather. I would be extremely upset if I came back here in a few weeks, and found that you did nothing to help him," Xander said. He could already tell that the Minister wasn't planning to do a thing to help Sirius.

"I'll take care of it right away, Mr. Potter," Fudge said. He would have to. He didn't want to have the Potter heir as an enemy. The boy could ruin him.

Xander turned to Giles. "Let's get out of here." He'd waited long enough. He wanted to see Harry.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Xander and Giles soon apparated back to Buffy's house. Xander then bent down to try to get rid of that queasiness he was now feeling. "God I hate apparating.

"Xander," Giles said as he looked straight ahead.

Xander followed Giles' gaze to the couch. A young boy of a about fifteen was sitting there next to Buffy. Xander knew it was his brother. The kid looked just like their father, only with their mother's eyes. "Harry?"

Harry looked at the man in front of him, perplexed. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"I'm your brother."


	9. Chapter 9

"What did you say?" Harry asked in shock as he stood up. This guy had just said he was his brother. That couldn't be right though. He was an only child. Someone would have said something if he really had a brother.

Buffy who was sitting on the couch next to Harry stood up. "I'm going to go see if Dawn needs any help with her homework," she said before quickly heading up the stairs.

"I'm your brother," Xander repeated. It might have seemed a bit harsh to blurt it out like that, but he didn't know how else to say it. No way he said it would make it easier for Harry.

"That's a lie! I don't have a brother. My parents died when I was a baby and I was their only child," Harry said.

"That's not true," Xander said calmly. He knew his brother might have a hard time believing him. "My name was Alexander Charlus Potter. I was six-years-old when you were born. Seven when I watched our mother die," he said with pain in his voice.

"You're lying," Harry said. He was sure how or why this man was doing this, but he knew that he was lying.

"No, I'm not. I'm your brother. That fact is a matter of public record," Xander said.

Harry shook his head. "No, Dumbledore would've told me if I had a brother.

"No, he wouldn't. Dumbledore didn't want you to know your brother," said Giles.

'Who are you?" he asked.

"This is Rupert Giles. He's a friend of mine. He also knew our parents," Xander explained.

Harry eyed the older man suspiciously. "You knew my parents?"

"Somewhat, yes," Giles said. "I can assure you that everything Xander has told you is the truth."

"And why should I believe you? I don't know you anymore than I do him," Harry said. These people were crazy if he thought he was just going to accept this.

"You have a good point. You have every reason to mistrust us. In fact, I'd consider you a fool if you did trust us. But this is the truth. It is public knowledge that James and Lily Potter had two sons," Giles said.

"If it's common knowledge then why didn't I know about it?" Harry asked. He still didn't believe it, but he was curious about how they would explain that.

"Because this Dumbledore guy didn't' want you to," Xander answered. He didn't want you to know you had other family. He didn't even want me to know. He went so far as to mess with my memories so that I would forget you."

"Why would he do that?" Harry asked in disbelief. He couldn't see Dumbledore doing something like that.

"Because he wanted you to be his soldier. He wanted to be assured that you were going to fight for him when the time came," Giles explained.

"How is keeping my brother from me supposed to accomplish that?" Harry asked.

"You grew up in the muggle world, correct?"

Harry nodded.

"And am I right in assuming that Dumbledore introduced you to the wizarding world?" he asked.

"Well, he sent someone else to introduce me, but yes," Harry said.

"And you were grateful for that, were you not? You started to depend on him, didn't you?" asked Giles.

"Well, yes," Harry admitted. He was starting to see where the man was going.

"Don't you understand? He isolated you. He wanted you to be grateful enough to do his bidding. To depend only on him. That wouldn't have happened if you'd had Xander in your life. If you'd known your brother, it would've been him that you depended on. Him that you followed and looked up to," Giles said. He could see that he was getting through at least a little bit. The boy was thinking about what he was saying.

Harry began to see what this man was saying. He remembered how Dumbledore had sent someone to rescue him from the Dursley's every single summer. This Giles person was right. He'd been grateful. It was the reason he'd trusted every single thing Dumbledore said. But would he really go this far? Would he really keep his own brother from him. And if he'd done that, how much more had he lied about? "I want proof."

"Well, I don't know if this will prove to you who I am, but it will prove that you have a brother," Xander said before taking out his parents will and handing it to his little brother.

Harry took the offered piece of paper and started examining it. It soon became clear that it was his parent's Will. He scrolled down a little until he read the name 'Alexander.' That was the name his supposed brother had given him. Sure enough, in the will, it did say that he had a brother named Alexander.

Harry couldn't believe it. It was true. He had an older brother. It was all here in black and white. He knew it had to be true because Ron once told him that magical documents like this couldn't be forged. It was real. He had a brother

He continued to read further. As he did, shock turned to anger. Not just because he'd been lied to about his brother, but also because it seemed that Dumbledore had to know that Sirius had been innocent. His father had written down that Pettigrew was their secret keeper. There was no way Dumbledore didn't see this. He had to have known.

Then the final blow came. Harry read who his parents wanted him and his brother to go to in the event of their deaths. First there was Sirius, then Remus, then various other wizarding families, but they stated very clearly that the Dursley's were to get nowhere near them. Dumbledore had completely ignored his parents' wishes.

Harry looked back up at the other two occupants after a few minutes. "How could this happen? How could this even be allowed to happen.

Xander looked at Giles. He kind of wanted to know the answer to that himself.

"I wish I had an acceptable answer for you, but I don't. What happened to you and your brother was a terrible injustice," Giles said.

Harry paced the floor for a minute before turning back to Xander. "Okay, I know that I have a brother, but how do I know you're him?" He'd been lied to too many times. He needed proof.

Xander turned to Giles. "How do I prove it?"

"I can get Severus to brew a heredity potion. Will that satisfy you?" Giles asked.

"Those can't be messed with, right?" he asked.

"No. You can watch as both yours and Xander's blood goes in," Giles said.

"Okay, that's fine," Harry said before collapsing back on the couch and tried to digest everything he'd been told.


	10. Chapter 10

Harry sat on the porch right outside the Summers' house. He was trying to process everything he'd been told. This had been the weirdest day of his life, and that was truly saying something. The last thing he expected when he woke up this morning was to find out he had a brother by the end of the day.

Harry was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the door. He turned around in time to see Buffy coming out.

"Hey," Buffy said as she went over and sat next to him.

"Hi," Harry said.

"It's nice out tonight, isn't it?" Buffy asked in an attempt to make small talk.

"Yeah."

"It's not really safe to out here alone though," Buffy said. Even sitting on a porch at night in Sunnydale could be dangerous.

Harry shrugged. "Nowhere is really safe for me, so I don't think it matters."

"Danger follows you too, huh? I can relate," Buffy said.

Harry snorted. Somehow he doubted that. "Really. So you have a powerful dark lord trying to kill you?"

"More like a bunch of less powerful guys, but you get the gist," Buffy said.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well, have you ever heard of the vampire slayer?" Buffy asked.

Harry shook his head.

"Seriously?" Buffy asked surprised. Nearly everyone that knew about magic and the supernatural knew about the slayer. "Wow. That's a first."

"What is a slayer?" Harry asked.

"One girl in all the world that can fight the forces of evil. They actually have a little speech about it, but I don't feel like saying it right now. Basically I fight vampires, demons, etc.," she explained.

"Wow. So I guess you do know what it's like. Everyone at my school goes around thinking I'm supposed to save them for Voldemort. But I'm just a kid. The only reason I'm even alive is because of my mother's love. Yet everyone looks to me when something goes wrong," Harry said.

"Oh yeah, I definitely know what that's like. I was just about your age when I found out that was going to be expected to save the world day after day. It wasn't easy. There were many times that I tried to give, but it didn't work. It followed me everywhere," Buffy said. She could really relate to what Harry was going though. Not the thing with his family, but definitely the horrible destiny crap.

"No one's actually told me that I have to protect the world, but they all act like that. Most of my dorm mates look to me when something goes wrong, even my friends," Harry said. His first year was a prime example. Ron had told him that he was the one that had to protect the stone. "And as if that isn't enough, this happens."

"Yeah, but it's not that bad. Xander's a great guy. He cares about you a lot," Buffy said. It had only been a day since Xander found out the truth about his real family, but he immediately stepped up to the job. He wanted to go for the kid last night. He reminded her of herself with Dawn.

"When I was a kid, I used to wish that I had a brother. You know, someone to play with talk to, stuff like that. Hell, I would've taken any family that cared. I grew up with a cousin who was the same age as me, but he just used me as his personal punching bag," Harry said.

"And his parents didn't do anything to stop him?" Buffy asked surprised. She wasn't an expert, but she pretty sure parents were supposed to stop things like that. Her mother would anyway. Whenever she and Dawn would fight, her mother would step in and put a stop to it.

Harry snorted. "Are you kidding? They encouraged it. They hated me. They'd take any opportunity they could to hurt me in some way."

Buffy felt the overwhelming urge to go find these people and practice her slaying skills on them. Anyone who treated a child that way deserved a very large and very long beat down. "I'm sorry. But you know, Xander being your brother means you'd never have to deal with that again.

Harry smiled. He had thought about that. If this man really was his brother, he would never have to go back to the Dursley's again. There were definite upsides to this, but there were also downsides. "Yeah, but it also means that people I trusted lied to me for years." It wasn't just Dumbledore. Sirius and Remus lied to him as well. They were his parents' friends. They must have known that he had a brother.

"Yeah, that's gotta suck. Finding out somebody who you believed had your best interests at heart didn't," Buffy said.

"It's not just Dumbledore though. There are others, like my godfather. There's no way he couldn't have known. He knew I had a brother and he said nothing!" Harry said angrily.

Buffy noted the way he said that. It seemed that a part of Harry already believed that Xander was his brother even if he didn't realize it. "Okay, don't get me wrong, keeping secrets from people that trust you is always a bad idea, but isn't it possible that they were just trying to protect you. I mean, they thought Xander was dead."

Harry scowled. "I'm sick of people trying to protect me. Why do they bother anyway. One minute people are trying to protect me, and the next they expect me to save them."

Buffy was about to say something else when she heard the front door open. She turned around and saw Willow. "Hey, Will."

"Hey. They're ready with the potion," Willow said.

Buffy nodded and then motioned for Harry to come inside. Once inside, they went into the kitchen, where they found Giles, Severus, and Xander huddled over a cauldron that was sitting on the kitchen table.

"So what do we do? Just put out blood in?" Xander asked.

"I only need blood from one of you. It'll list all of your close family members. That'll give you all the proof you need," Severus said.

Xander handed Buffy a knife and held out his hand. He couldn't do it himself. No way. "Do it quick," he said before squeezing his eyes shut.

Buffy took the knife and quickly cut the middle of Xander's hand.

Xander hissed in pain before squeezing his hand shut over the cauldron and dropped some of his blood into it.

They all huddled over the cauldron and watched as names appeared.

JAMES POTTER

LILY EVANS POTTER

HARRY POTTER

Harry stared at the cauldron. It was true. He had a brother. A brother he could've grown up with if not for Dumbledore. Dumbledore had been lying to him since the day they met. He'd told him that he had to live with the Dursley's because of blood protection, but that was obviously a lie. If there ever was blood protection, it could've worked with Xander's blood. Dumbledore had taken his brother from him. He'd taken everything from him. He didn't care who he hurt as long as he got what he wanted.

Xander could see the turmoil his brother was feeling. It was obvious that the kid was having a hard time. Without thinking, Xander went over and wrapped his arms around the young boy. "its okay, Harry. We're going to get through this."

Harry slowly returned the hug and began to cry. For everything that had been taken from him before and for what was going to be taken from him now that he knew he'd been lied to.


	11. Chapter 11

Harry woke up the next morning and found himself in an unfamiliar room. Then the previous day's events came flooding back. He remembered finding out about his brother and then going to the older man's house.

Harry got out of bed and walked out of the room. He went into the kitchen and found his brother sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Hey. How'd you sleep?" Xander asked.

"Alright," Harry said. He'd actually slept quite well. He hadn't slept that good in a long time.

"Good. Are you hungry?" Xander asked before standing up and going over to one of the cabinets. We have cereal and cereal. Sorry. I can't cook to save my life."

"I can if you want," Harry said. Living with the Dursley's, he 'd had to learn how to cook at a young age.

Xander looked at his brother surprised. "Really? You know how to cook?"

"Yeah, for a while now. I learned when I was young. Do you have eggs?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Xander said before opening the refrigerator and taking out a carton of eggs. "Willow went shopping for me one day. She says I can't just live off of cereal and pizza."

"Do you like scrambled eggs?" Harry asked as he started taking out a couple of eggs and looking for a bowl to scramble them in.

"Harry, you don't have to cook. It's fine," Xander said. He didn't want his brother thinking he was his slave or something.

"I want to. I like to cook," Harry said. It was the one thing that Dursley's made him do that he actually enjoyed.

"Oh, okay, then," Xander said before grabbing a pan and putting it on the stove. "Can I help in any way that won't screw it up?"

Harry started laughing. "Yeah, start cracking the eggs and putting them in the bowl. Just make sure not to get any of the shells mixed in it."

"I think I can handle that," Xander said before doing just that. "So where'd you learn to cook?"

"The Dursley's," Harry replied.

"You know, I never even knew our mother had a sister until now," Xander said. Even as a child, he'd never heard of an aunt on his mother's side, and the only uncles he remembered having were Sirius and Remus. He remembered Peter as well, but he'd never really taken to the man.

"I'm not surprised. Aunt Petunia hated Mum and everything associated with her. Mum probably didn't feel like chatting about a sister who hated her," Harry explained.

"She hate you too?" Xander asked.

Harry nodded and looked away.

There was a few moments of silence before Xander cleared his throat and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Look, it's going to be okay. You don't have to worry about anyone treating you badly again."

Harry looked at him and smiled. Xander was the first person to ever tell him that that he actually believed.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Remus walked through the halls of Grimmauld Place with a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hand and a huge smile on his face. He walked through the living room and into the kitchen, where he found Sirius was sitting. He placed the paper in front of him. "Here. Have a look at that."

"What's up with you. You look like Christmas came early this year. What could have you so… Bloody hell!" Sirius exclaimed. He was on the front page and it was saying that Fudge had proclaimed him innocent. "Is this real?"

"I think so. I spoke to Arthur just in case it was a trick to drag you out of hiding, but apparently not. He says that Fudge wasn't happy about having to exonerate you. It's real, Sirius," Remus said smiling.

Sirius stood up abruptly and cheered. "Yes! Oh, this is great! I can finally get out of this bloody house. I'm going out. Don't wait up for me," he said before he started to walk away.

"Wait, where are you going?" Remus asked.

"Anywhere. Maybe I'll go get Harry and we'll go out together," Sirius said. He was ecstatic. Finally he could go out without having to look over his shoulder. He could get custody of Harry now.

"Whoa, hang on a minute. Slow down. You have to at least talk to Dumbledore before you make any decisions regarding Harry," Remus said.

"Screw Dumbledore. I'm not waiting for him. I'm going to get my godson," Sirius said. He was sick of letting Dumbledore dictate what happened to him or Harry any longer. He was going to take his life back and help Harry do the same.

"Listen, I understand, but what if something happens? I know you don't want to see Harry get hurt. At least wait until we're sure it's safe for Harry to be here," Remus said. He understood that Sirius didn't want to defer to Dumbledore. Frankly, he was getting a bit sick of it as well. It really shouldn't be up to Dumbledore on what happened to Harry. But he wanted to make sure Harry was safe, so he'd follow him for no. "Look, Dumbledore mentioned bringing Harry here soon anyway. Let's just wait until that happens."

Sirius sighed. He didn't like it, but he could see Remus' point. "Okay, fine. I won't bring him here just yet, but I'm still going to see him. I'll spend a few hours with him. That can't be dangerous, can it?"

Remus thought about it for a minute. Dumbledore had said he didn't want anyone going to see Harry at his relative's home, but as he said, he was sick of deferring. It was perfectly safe for them to go visit Harry. "Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll come with you."

Sirius smiled. "Alright, let's go," Sirius said before leading the way out of the room.


	12. Chapter 12

Sirius and Remus approached the Dursley home. "I can't wait to see Harry's fault when he sees us," Sirius said before knocking on the door.

Seconds later, it was opened by Petunia who shrieked as soon as she saw Sirius. "You! You're that murderer!"

Sirius and Remus who had been forced to bring their hands to their ears slowly put them down. "Bloody hell, Woman, shut up! And for your information, I was just exonerated," Sirius said.

"Hello, Mrs. Dursley. We'd like to see Harry if that's alright," Remus said more politely.

"Well, you can't! He's not here," Petunia said.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean he's not here? Where the bloody hell is he? He's supposed to be here."

"Sirius, calm down. Maybe Dumbledore came and got him," Remus reasoned.

"You mean that old man? He didn't take the boy. It was that awful Snape boy that Lily used to hang around with," Petunia said. She hadn't spoken to the foul man, but she'd watched him leave with the boy

"Snivellus," Sirius growled.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Sirius angrily walked through the halls of Hogwarts towards the dungeons. Remus followed him. "Sirius, please think about this."

"Think about what? He took my godson!" Sirius said angrily.

"Yes, but he might have done so under Dumbledore's orders," Remus tried to reason.

Sirius stopped abruptly and turned to his friend. "And if he didn't? If he took Harry to You Know Who?"

"Come on, Sirius. Now you're just being paranoid," he said. He knew Sirius was upset, so was he, but insinuating that Severus would actually turn Harry over to Voldemort was ridiculous.

"Is it? Can you really say that you trust him?" Sirius asked.

"I may not like the man, but I trust that he is on our side," Remus said.

"Well, I don't. I'm going to find out what he did with Harry," Sirius said before continuing towards the dungeons. Remus followed him and they walked through the dungeon's and into Severus' office.

Severus was in his office by his desk when he heard someone barge into this office. He barely had time to react before he found himself pinned up against a wall by an irate Sirius Black.

"What'd you do with him, Snivellus?" Sirius demanded.

Severus glared and pushed the man off of him. "Get your bloody hands off of me!"

"Where is he?" Sirius asked again.

"I'm sure I don't know what the bloody hell you're talking about," Severus said. Truthfully, he was sure he knew exactly what Black was talking about. He'd and Lupin had somehow found out that he'd taken Potter from his relatives.

Sirius made a move to attack Severus again, but Remus pulled him back and got in between them. "Sirius, stop! Let me handle it."

Sirius looked like he wanted to argue, instead crossed his arms and glared.

Remus turned back to Severus. "Severus, did you take Harry from his home?"

"Now why would I do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe so you could hand him over to you master," Sirius said snidely.

"Sirius, be quiet!" Remus ordered. H knew that Sirius was upset, but antagonizing the only person that could tell them where Harry was wasn't going to help anyone. "Just tell us, Severus. Did you take him?"

Severus stared at them both for a few moments before replying, "Yes."

"Where is he, you bastard?" Sirius demanded to know.

Remus sighed looked at Severus calmly. "Will you please tell us where he is?"

"No,' he said simply. He wasn't going to tell them where Potter was or about the eldest Potter child just yet. He wanted to give the boy more time to get things in order, including his custody of Harry Potter, before letting anyone know exactly what he headmaster had done.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean 'no'?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "I know you're an idiot, Black, but even you should be able to figure out what the word 'no' means."

Sirius pushed Remus out of the way and once again pushed Severus up against the wall. "Tell me where my godson is, you slimy bastard!"

"No," Severus replied.

Remus pulled Sirius off once more and turned to Severus. "Severus, why are you doing this? Did Dumbledore ask you to hide Harry?" He wanted to give Severus the benefit of the doubt, but it was getting increasingly more difficult. He was starting to get just as angry as Sirius.

Severus sneered. "Dumbledore can rot in hell for all I care."

"I knew it! He's working for You Know Who!" Sirius exclaimed.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Even after all these years, you stupidity still manages to astound me, Black. As of now, I work for no one." After everything that he'd found out, he could no longer work for Dumbledore. Not as a spy and not as a potions master.

Remus blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about? Why did you take Harry?"

"I don't answer to you, Lupin. You want to see, Potter. Find him yourself," Severus said before plowing past them and out of the room.

Sirius went to go after him, but Remus pulled him back. "What are you doing? He knows where Harry is."

"I know, but it's obvious that he's not going to tell us. Chasing after him and attacking him isn't going to make him more inclined to tell us," Remus explained.

"So what, we just let him get away with it?" Sirius asked in disbelief. He couldn't believe Remus would even suggest such a thing.

"Of course not! But something is going on that we don't know about. I got the impression that Severus was trying to protect Harry," Remus said. Even when Severus refused to tell them anything about where Harry was, he didn't get the impression that he was doing it out of malice. It seemed like he couldn't tell for some reason.

Sirius scowled. "That's rubbish! Snape hates Harry!"

"Look, I can only go by what I heard. Severus isn't moonlighting for Dumbledore or You Know Who. I don't exactly know why he's doing this, but obviously there is something we don't know."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out. Let's go," Remus said before leading the way out of the office.


	13. Chapter 13

After returning to Grimmwald Place, Remus headed for the study. Sirius followed him. "So what's the big plan for finding Harry?" Sirius asked.

"Well, first I thought we'd try something radical. I thought we'd ask him," Remus said as he got a piece of parchment and a quill.

"What?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"I'm writing him a letter," Remus clarified before sitting down behind the desk.

"And you really think Snape will let him write back? And even if he does, Snape will probably threaten him into telling us everything is fine when it's not," Sirius said.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Must you be so overdramatic?"

"I'm not being overdramatic, Remus. Snivellus could be doing anything to him right now. We've already lost so much. Lily, James, Alex. I won't lose Harry too!" Sirius said strongly

Remus looked down sadly. He missed all those people too. It was all such a tragedy, especially little Alex. He was so young, so full of life. It shouldn't have ended like that for him. "We're not going to lose him, alright? Let's just take this one step at a time. We'll send him a letter and see what he replies. Then we'll figure out what to do next."

Sirius sighed. "Fine. But I'm telling you if Snape has done anything to him-"

"Then I will help you kill him," Remus promised. He would too. If anyone hurt his cub, he would make them see just it was that werewolves were so feared.

Sirius sat down in a chair as Remus started to write.

Remus started to write, but then looked up at Sirius. "There's something else we have to discuss. We're going to have tell Harry the truth about what happened the day the his family was attacked."

"What are talking about? He knows the truth," Sirius said.

"He doesn't know about Alex. We're going to have to tell him," Remus said.

Sirius shifted uncomfortably. "What for? What good would it do him? It would just be one more death for him to feel guilty over."

"Sirius, we're going to have to tell him eventually. The entire wizarding world knows that James and Lily had another son. We're lucky someone hasn't told him already," Remus said. It was pretty much a miracle that no one had told the boy. He was surprised one of the death eater's children hadn't said anything just to hurt Harry.

Sirius looked down sadly. He knew Remus was right. It would be better for Harry to hear the truth from them than anyone else. He just wished Harry didn't have to know at all. It was hard of them to deal with the death of Alex. It would be much worse for Harry who seemed to blame himself for everyone the Dark Lord killed trying to get to him. "Look, let's just get Harry back first. Then we'll worry about what to tell him and when.

Remus nodded and went back to writing.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Harry woke up in his bed at his brother's after a long nap. He looked at the clock and saw that it was after six. He immediately got up and walked out into the living room where he saw Xander putting his shoes on. "Are you going somewhere?"

Xander looked up at his brother. "Hey. I was just about to come wake you. Actually, _we're_ going somewhere. Over to Buffy's for dinner. They ordered pizza. You like pizza, right? What am I saying? Everybody likes pizza."

"Actually, I've never had it," Harry said uncomfortably.

Xander stopped what he was doing and looked at his brother in shock. "Tell me you're kidding."

Harry shrugged. "The Dursley's never let me have any when they got it."

There was a very awkward silence between the two for several moments. Xander felt enraged and wondered what else those people had done to his brother, but he felt it was too soon in their relationship for him to start pumping him for information, so he decided to drop it for now. "Well, Pizza's awesome. Come on. Put your shoes on and we'll go.

Harry smiled and immediately grabbed his shoes and started putting them on.

"Xander watched as his brother put on a ratty pair of shoes that weren't fit for a dog. He made a mental note to take his brother shopping as soon as possible.

"Okay, all ready," Harry said.

Xander nodded and then they both left.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Twenty minutes later, Xander and Harry walked into Buffy's house. They then walked into the kitchen where Buffy, Dawn, and Giles were taking pizza from a pizza box on the table. "Hey, guys. What's shakin'?

"Hey, you two. Did you guys have a good night?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, it was alright. Oh, by the way, Harry, this is Dawn," Xander said as he pointed to the young brunette next to Buffy. "Dawn, this is my little brother, Harry."

"Hey," Dawn greeted.

"H…hi," Harry said as he smiled shyly.

"Alright, well, let's… Whoa!" Buffy exclaimed as a large bird made it's way into the kitchen.

"It's alright, Buffy. That's a magical owl. My guess is it is here for Harry," Giles said.

Harry immediately walked over to the owl and took the letter.

"What's wrong with using the good old American mailman like normal people? I mean, it's gotta by much faster than a freaking owl," Buffy said.

"Actually, Owls are much faster than the regular post. They can usually make it in a few hours, a day tops," Giles explained.

Xander, meanwhile, noticed as his brother's face grew hard. "Everything okay, Harry?"

"It's from Remus. He wants to know where I am and if I'm okay," Harry said before tossing the letter aside.

"Aren't you going to write him back?" Xander asked.

"Why should I? He lied to me, he and Sirius both," Harry said angrily.

"Look, it was wrong for them to keep the truth from you, but isn't it also wrong to make him worry?" Xander asked. He was a bit irritated that Remus would keep vital information from Harry, but he knew that Remus was a good guy. If he'd kept the truth from Harry, it was only to protect him.

"Well, I guess so," Harry said. He was pretty angry at Remus and Sirius, but he supposed they did at least deserve to know that he was okay. "But what am I supposed to say. I can't tell them the truth. They'd probably think I went mad."

Xander thought for a minute. He supposed it was probably high time he freed both his surrogate uncles from the belief that he was dead. It wasn't anymore fair for him to let them believe that than it was for Harry to let them worry about him. "Tell them to come to Sunnydale. We'll tell them the truth in person. But make sure they don't alert anyone else."

"Actually, perhaps it would be a better idea for me to alert Severus on what you've decided. He can bring them here himself. That way there's no chance that they'll accidently leak the information or that the mail will be intercepted," Giles said.

"Oh, okay. That sounds much better actually. Now, can we eat already? I'm starving," Xander said.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You're always starving Xander. Come on, I think I just heard Willow come in," Buffy said as she grabbed pizza for both herself and Willow

They all then grabbed their slices of pizza and headed into the living room.


	14. Chapter 14

Sirius walked into the kitchen at around lunchtime the next day and found Remus sitting there. "Hey. Any sign of Harry's owl?"

"Not since you asked an hour ago," Remus said irritably. Sirius had been asking him the same question all bloody day. It was putting him even further on edge than he already was because it was making him worry about Harry even more.

"What could be taking so long?" Sirius asked impatiently before sitting down across from his friend.

"Owls aren't instantaneous, Sirius. They take time to get from place to place. Merlin, you would never survive the muggle post," Remus said. Compared to the muggle post, the owl mail system was instantaneous.

"I'm just worried, alright?'

"And you think I'm not. I love Harry just as much as you do. But we can't go getting ahead of ourselves just yet. Let's just try to be patient for a little while longer," Remus said.

"How much longer?" Sirius asked. He couldn't just sit there for much longer. He would explode if he didn't find out what was going on with Harry soon.

"Until tonight. If we haven't heard from Harry by tonight, we'll tell the other Order members at the meeting," Remus said.

Sirius sighed. He supposed he could wait until then. He doubted much would change between now and then. "Fine."

Just then, they noticed Snape come into the room. "What the bloody hell do you want, Snivillus? Get out!" Sirius ordered.

"So you don't want to see your precious godson then? Fine," Severus said as he headed back out of the room.

"Wait!" Remus called after him before standing up. "You'll tell us where Harry is?"

"No. But I will take you to him. Against my advice, those caring for the boy have decided that you should see him," Severus said.

"Who's caring for him?" Remus asked.

"You'll find out when we get there. Now are you coming or not," Severus asked impatiently.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Sirius said.

"Sirius, he's going to take us to see Harry," Remus reasoned.

"We don't know that. For all we know, he'll take us to You Know Who himself," Sirius said. He didn't trust any further than he could throw him. He certainly wasn't going to go anywhere with him.

"By all means, Black, stay here. It doesn't affect me one way or the other. I'll gladly go back and tell your godson that you declined to come see him," Severus said.

"Sirius, do you really want to take the risk that he's telling the truth?" Remus asked. He certainly wasn't willing to take that chance. If there was even the tiniest chance that Severus really would take him to see Harry, he was taking it. "Look, you can stay if you want, but I'm going to see Harry?"

Sirius sighed. "Alright, fine. Let's go."

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Xander and Harry were sitting in the living room watching a movie with Buffy and Dawn when they noticed Giles heading for the door. "Hey, G-man. Where you going?"

"How many time do I have to tell you never to call me that?" Giles asked as he approached them.

Xander ignored him. "So where are you going?"

"Severus should be back any moment. It is best that I not be here when he arrives," Giles said.

"Why?" Buffy asked.

"Because if I am in close proximities with Sirius Black, I won't be held responsible for my actions," Giles said. He was obviously not a fan of Black's. He'd loathed him while in school. Black had spent many of his days torturing Giles' housemates. Giles didn't carry the same grudge Severus did, but he did want to avoid the man if he could.

"You don't like my godfather?" Harry asked.

Giles hesitated. He didn't want to speak ill of someone this child obviously cared for, but he wouldn't lie either. "Let's just say that we didn't get on well. He liked to play pranks a lot and I didn't find many of them particularly funny." It was a big understatement, but it would do.

Just then, there was a loud 'pop' sound. Severus had apparated in with Remus and Sirius.

Xander yelped a bit when it happened. "I'm never going to get used to that.

"Harry, thank Merlin. Are you alright?" Sirius asked

"I'm fine," Harry said as he went over to his godfather and let him hug him.

Remus, meanwhile, looked around at his surroundings. He saw two young woman sitting nearby. He also noticed a man that he recognized. He'd gone to school with them. He'd been a friend of Severus'

Remus approached the man. "It's Giles, right?"

"Lupin," Giles said civilly. He didn't really have a problem with Remus Lupin. The man had never really taken part in his friend's bullying tactics. He'd even chastised them for it many times.

Sirius let go of Harry and glared at Giles. He remembered the man. He was a Slytherin. He was friends with Snape, and any friend of Snape was an enemy of his. "You! So this was your doing, was it?"

Buffy, sensing a fight coming on got between the two men. "Okay, this isn't happening."

"Lady, get out of my way!" Sirius demanded.

"Sirius came down," Remus said, always the voice of reason.

"You might wanna listen to him. You're in my house, and while you're in my house, you'll act like a civilized adult," Buffy said.

Severus snorted. "'Civilized' and 'adult' aren't in Black's vocabulary."

"Shut up, Snivillus!" Sirius growled before turning his glare back to Buffy. "That snake kidnapped my godson."

"No he didn't!" Xander said. "I asked Severus to bring him here.

Sirius turned to him. He actually hadn't noticed the young man's presence until just then. "You kidnapped my godson.

"I didn't kidnap anyone," Xander said.

"The bloody hell you didn't! You told Snivillus to take my godson. That's kidnapping," Sirius said.

"No, that's rectifying a mistake," Xander corrected. Though 'mistake' was probably the wrong word. 'Injustice' was probably more like it.

Remus, who had been quiet doing the whole exchange, was focused on the ring that rested on the young man's finger. It was James' ring. He held the family crest. Only the heir the Potter fortune could wear it. It was supposed to go to Harry when he became of age. Unless Harry wasn't the heir. But then who else could be. Harry was James' sole surviving son. Wasn't he?"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart!" Sirius growled as took a few steps closer.

"Because if you try, the only person getting ripped apart will be you," Buffy offered up.

"I have another one," Remus said as he stared at the kid. "He's a Potter."


	15. Chapter 15

Sirius looked at Remus as if he had two heads. "Remus, what the bloody hell are you talking about."

"Look at his hand, Sirius. He's wearing the Potter family ring," Remus said.

Sirius turned and looked at the ring on the younger man's hand. Sure enough, it was James' ring. Fury ignited in Sirius' eyes and he made a move to attack the boy. "You little bastard!"

Buffy got in the middle and pushed Sirius away, sending him clear across the room."

"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed as he went to go to the man's side.

Xander grabbed his brother by the arms and held him back. He then looked at Buffy. "Was that really necessary, Buffy?"

"Xander, he tried to attack you," Buffy said.

Sirius groaned. That had really hurt. This woman obviously had quite a bit of strength.

"Sirius, are you alright?" Remus asked. He'd gone to his friend's side the instant he'd hit the ground.

"I'm fine," Sirius said as he started to get up. He looked over at Xander and glared. "Get your hands off my godson."

"Sirius, stop. He hasn't done anything wrong," Harry said.

"He kidnapped you, Harry. Not to mention stealing from your father," Sirius said.

"As you usual, Black, you jump to a conclusion without thinking it through," Giles said. Sirius had been like this since they were all children. He allowed his anger to take control over rational thought.

"You stay out of this, Giles. This has nothing to do with you!" Sirius yelled.

"Use your head, Black! No one can wear a Head ring except for the heir to the family," Giles said.

"He's right, Sirius. You ought to know that. This young man is a Potter. He has to be," Remus said.

"That's not possible. All the Potters are dead," Sirius said. When he thought about it, he knew Remus was right about the whole ring thing, but it made no sense. The boy couldn't be a Potter.

"Yeah, well, sometimes dead doesn't really mean dead," Xander said.

"Yeah, just ask all the vampires in town," Buffy quipped. "Although, I guess this is kinda different."

"What's your name?" Remus asked. He already knew the answer though. It wasn't that hard to figure out. He was around the same age, he looked a lot like him, and he was next in line to become heir. Still, Remus wouldn't let himself believe it until he heard it from the boy himself.

"Alexander," Xander told them. He gave them his full name because he knew that would leave a bigger impression on them.

Sirius was shocked for a minute, but then shock turned to anger. He was angry that anybody would dare try to impersonate his godson. "You little son of a bitch!" he yelled before moving to lunge at him. Before he could though, Remus held him back.

"Dude, the next time you try to attack him, I will make that little tumble across the room seem like a love tap," Buffy warned.

"Sirius, you need to calm down," Remus said. He was just as shocked by everything as Sirius was, but losing control and attacking people wasn't going to help anything.

Sirius looked at Remus like he had two heads. "You can't really be buying this, can you? He's lying, Remus."

"No, he's not!" Harry defended.

Xander put a comforting arm on his brother's shoulder.

"Is there somewhere that I can talk to him alone," Remus asked Buffy. He needed to get Sirius under control before the man got himself seriously hurt.

"That might be a good idea. In the kitchen," Buffy said, pointed in the direction to it.

Remus practically dragged Sirius all the way to the kitchen, as the man was still enraged and ready to hurt someone.

Sirius violently pulled his arm away from Remus. "What the hell are you doing? You left those people alone with Harry! What if they hurt him?"

"The only person that seems to upsetting Harry right now is you," Remus said.

Sirius scowled. "Those people are messing with his head! Come on! Did you notice the company? We've got Snape and Giles in there, two slimy Slytherins."

Remus rolled his eyes, "Sirius, get your head out of your ass. This is not about some rivalry between school boys. This is about Harry and Alexander. James' sons."

"That kid is not James' son. He can't be," Sirius said. He frankly wished the kid was their Alex. That would be amazing. It would be like a dream come true. But it wasn't so. Alex was dead. "You went to Alex's funeral Remus. You know he's dead."

"Sirius, I'm not saying that it makes sense. It doesn't. I don't understand it one bit. But I believed him before he even said it," Remus said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, for one, there's the ring. It belongs to the first son of James Potter. The ring is rested on that kid's finger. He couldn't wear it if it didn't belong to him. And then there's his face. He looks like James. You can't deny that. More than that though, he looks like an older version of our Alex. It's him, Sirius. I don't know how, but it is," Remus said.

Sirius was quiet for a minute. It was all starting to sink in. The possibility of it flowed through his body and for the first time since they got there, he began to feel hope that it was true. Still, he couldn't see how. How could this be? "Let's go. I need answers one way or another."

Remus got in Sirius' way of the doorway. "If we go back in there, are you going to stay calm?"

"I'll do my best," Sirius said. He couldn't promise anything more. The truth was, there was a good chance he would lose it again, especially if it turned out the kid really was a fraud.

"I guess that has to be good enough," Remus said before leading the way back into the living room. They found all the adults sitting down on the couches. The two children, including Harry were gone.

"Where's Harry?" Sirius demanded.

"Upstairs. He was already upset by how tense things were getting. They're only going to get worse, so I figured it would be a good idea for him and Dawn to leave the room," Xander explained.

Sirius looked like he was about ready to pounce again, but he managed to calm himself down and stay quite.

Remus breathed a sigh of relief at having been able to avoid another scene and then turned to Xander. "Would you please explain to us what is going on?"

Xander nodded. "My name is Alexander Harris. At least that's what I thought until recently. I started having dreams. Dreams of a different life. I was around a couple who I felt strangely safe with. I had a dream with the two of you in it as well. It was in a hospital and a baby was there."

"Harry's birth," Remus whispered to Sirius. He then turned back to the boy he was now sure was there Alex. "You didn't remember any of this before? How is that possible?" Alex was young back then, but he was old enough to form lasting memories.

"I would've remembered before if someone hadn't messed with my head," Xander said angrily. It angered him deeply that that old bastard had messed with his memories like this.

"Messed with your head how?" Remus asked.

Xander pointed to Severus. "He can answer it better than I can. He came to help when we realized something was wrong."

"Yes. Rupert requested I come and look into the boy's memories. What I found was very disturbing," Severus said.

"What did you find, Severus?" Remus asked.

"The boy's mind had been extremely altered. He had blocks and false memories everywhere," Severus said.

"Somebody altered his memories?" asked a horrified Remus. Messing with an underage wizard's mind was highly illegal. It carried a massive prison sentence.

"Quite. The blocks on his mind were very strong. Though I must give him credit. It takes an extremely strong mind to put the kind of cracks he did in blocks that strong."

"Who would do this?" Sirius asked. He wanted answers. He wanted to know who did this so that he could go rip the bastard's head off.

"Who do you think, Black? That old man that everyone's always phoning over," Giles said.

"Dumbledore did this? Why?" Remus asked. He knew that Dumbledore could be manipulative sometimes, but to do something like this… It was unconscionable.

Sirius growled. "I told you! I told you that I didn't trust him anymore. He wants nothing more than to control, Harry.

"But so much so that he'd actually do something like this?" Remus asked, still in shock.

"He's more than capable of it, Lupin. Dumbledore would do anything for the so called greater good," Severus said.

"I'm gonna kill him," Sirius growled.

"I just can't believe it. You're alive," Remus said as he looked at Xander.

Xander smiled and stood up.

Remus immediately went over and put his arms around the young man.

Sirius went over and placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. He hadn't felt this good in a long time. His eldest godson was alive. They were all together again. Sure, they couldn't get back what was taken from them, but there were all together again with Harry as well. And nothing was going to tear them apart again.


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning, Xander crept downstairs. He walked passed Remus and Sirius and into the kitchen. Because his apartment was so small, Buffy had offered to let them all stay at her place. Dawn and Willow slept in Buffy's room, which allowed him and Harry to take Dawn's room and Giles to take Willow's. Sirius and Remus took the living room.

Xander went over to the coffee maker and started a pot. He had a feeling it was going to be another long day and hadn't slept all that well, so he needed coffee.

Soon Xander heard someone come up behind him. He turned to see Remus there. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"No, I was half awake. I've always been an early riser," Remus said as he grabbed a seat at the table. "You, however, I remember hating the mornings."

"That hasn't really changed. I just haven't slept well these last couple of days," Xander said.

Remus wanted to ask why, but he didn't really Alex that well anymore. It would probably seem weird to him for Remus to question him about such things.

Xander seemed to realize what he was thinking. "It's because of the mixed memories I think. I'm still trying to sort it out in my head. Sometimes it's hard to tell what's real from what's not." That was part of it anyway. The other part was that he kept replaying his last memory as Alex Potter over and over again in his sleep. It was the night he watched his mother die.

Remus smiled sadly. "Well, I'm sure it'll get better in time."

Xander poured himself a cup of Coffee once he was done. "Coffee? Or Giles has some tea around her somewhere. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"No, I'm fine, thank you," Remus said.

Xander grabbed his cup and sat across from Remus. "So I have a question for you Remus. Why was my brother living with relatives that treated him like crap instead of with you? I know why he wasn't living with Sirius, but why not you?"

Remus stiffened. "It's complicated."

"Then uncomplicate it!" Xander snapped.

Remus couldn't help but flinch a little from the tone. He hadn't expected that level of bluntness. Alex obviously inherited his mother's temper. "Alright. Please don't hate me for this. I'm a werewolf."

"Why would I hate you for that? I had a friend who was a werewolf," Xander said. He had no issue with Remus being a werewolf. He was surprised by it, but he didn't hate him. He would've been a bit of a hypocrite for hating him based on that given that he had been friendly with Oz for years.

Remus breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, werewolves are considered dark creatures in the wizarding world. I've never been able to keep a job because of it and werewolves can't raise children. That's why I was unable to take Harry."

Xander shook his head in disbelief. "Man, the more I find out about your world, the less I want to be a part of it. I'm becoming more and more convinced that I made the right choice."

Remus frowned a little. "What choice?"

"I made a deal with the Minister of Magic. I told him that if he made me Harry's guardian immediately, I would pull him out of Hogwarts. I'm not going to watch my brother be manipulated and slandered by those ingrates. You may not agree with that decision, but…"

"No, I have no issue with it, especially after what I've learned about Dumbledore. It may just be the best thing. But Harry will not agree," Remus said. He knew that Harry was not going to be very happy with this turn of events. He loved Hogwarts and he would want to be there with his friends. He wasn't going to love being taken from them.

"What won't Harry agree with?" Sirius asked as he walked into the room looking like a zombie.

Remus laughed. "Good morning, sunshine."

"Shut up, Moony," Sirius grumbled before sitting down beside his friend. "So what won't Harry agree with?"

"Alex has taken him out of Hogwarts," Remus said.

Xander frowned a little when Remus called him Alex. He never really liked the name. Whenever anyone would call him that when he was a kid, he would instantly correct them. He wondered if that was because of what had been done to him by that Dumbledore fellow. He figured it must because while it sounded weird, he didn't mind too much when Remus called him that just a second ago.

"You okay?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. It's just that no one's called me Alex since… Well, since _it_ happened," Xander said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You prefer Xander now, yes?" Remus asked.

"Yes, but you can call me Alex if you want. Somehow it seems fitting when the two of you do it. I won't let anyone else do it, but you can," Xander said.

"Anyway, Remus is right about Harry. He won't be happy about leaving Hogwarts and his friends. I think it's a good idea though. I loved Hogwarts, but it's run by Dumbledore. We should keep Harry as far away from that old man as possible," Sirius said.

"He can still learn magic. I won't stop him from that. He can go to school for it around here if there is one or he can be tutored. I'm sure Giles wouldn't mind teaching him," Xander said.

"Remus and I will teach him if you go that route. I won't have my godson taught by that slimy snake," Sirius said.

Xander stiffened and his eyes hardened. "Okay, let's get something straight. Rupert Giles is a friend. No, he's more than just a friend. He's my family. He's been more of a father to me than the man whose house I grew up in. He's the reason I'm sitting here talking to you right now and I won't sit here and listen to you talk about him like that! I don't care if you like him, but I won't listen to you disparage him!"

Sirius was quite taken aback by his oldest godson's outburst, but he quickly recovered. "Alex, you don't understand…"

"Sirius, shut up before you dig yourself in deeper. It's time you let this childish grudge go anyway. Rupert Giles never did anything to you," Remus said.

"He's a slimy Slytherin. They're all the same!" Sirius exclaimed.

"What the hell's a Slytherin?" Xander asked. The way Sirius said it made it sound like a Slytherin was some kind of demon or something.

"Oh, Sirius, wake up!" Remus said as though he didn't even hear Xander. "You're acting like you're still in school. Gryffindors are good and Slytherins are evil? How do you explain Peter?"

Sirius scowled. "That was a fluke."

"Excuse me? Still in the room. What are Gryffindors and Slytherins?" Xander asked.

"They're Hogwarts houses. The school is divided into four houses by personality and they compete for the House Cup. Gryffindor and Slytherin have been rival houses for years," Remus explained.

Xander looked at Sirius like he'd lost his mind. "This is all about a freaking house?! You hate Giles because of a house?!"

"You don't understand," Sirius said.

"No, I don't understand and I don't think I want to. Of all the reasons to hate someone. A house," Xander said in disbelief. This was beyond stupid. Sirius didn't hate Giles because he bullied him or because he stole his girlfriend. Those reasons would actually make some kind of sense, even after all these years. This was just freaking nuts. It was like hating someone because they had a certain color hair.

"Slytherins are nothing but sneaky snakes. Tell him, Remus," Sirius said.

"Sirius, he's right. Look, this whole house rivalry made sense when we were kids, but we're adults now. At least one of us is anyway. You should know by now that the rivalry is stupid," Remus said.

Xander stood up. "You know what? I think I'm going to go check on Harry before my head explodes. A freaking house. Ridiculous," Xander muttered before disappearing from the room.


	17. Chapter 17

Harry walked out of Dawn's bedroom just as Dawn walked out of Buffy's. "Hey," Dawn said.

"H…hi," Harry said shyly. He always got really shy when he was around Dawn and his stomach did backflips. It was a lot how it had been with Cho last year.

"Did you sleep well?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, thanks. Um, thanks for letting us have your room last night," Harry said.

"Oh, no problem. Buffy, Willow, and I got to have a slumber party, so it's all good," Dawn said smiling.

Just then, Xander came up the stairs. "Please tell me you don't hate anyone because of a house."

"Huh?" Harry asked in confusion.

"I believe he's speaking of the Hogwarts houses," Giles said as he came out of Willow's room. He had come out just in time to hear Xander's frustrated plea. "I'm assuming your godfather had a few things to say about Slytherin."

"Oh, that. No, I don't hate anyone because they're Slytherin," Harry said. He really didn't. At first he had because of things he heard from Ron and Hagrid, and from his experience with Malfoy, but he didn't think so anymore. In fact, aside from Malfoy and his cronies, he really didn't have a problem with the Slytherins. He wasn't friends with them, but he didn't hold anything against them.

Xander was relieved to hear that his brother wasn't part of the lunacy. "Good. I just had the most ridiculous conversation I've ever had in my entire life. What kind of person hates another person based on where they sleep?"

"It actually goes back generations. It started with the founders of the school who disagreed about how the school should be. That's why they were separated into houses in the first place. The fights between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin were the worst," Giles explained.

"So it's about two dead guys who couldn't get along? Ridiculous!" Xander exclaimed again.

"I couldn't agree with you more, but it's how it has always been. The rivalry gets more intense with each generation. And no one does anything to stop it. In fact, it's encouraged. There's a point system there that awards a House Cup for whichever house gets the most points," Giles explained.

"Okay, I can see I school boy rivalry between competitive houses or whatever, but Sirius seems to hate you because you're a quote, 'slimy Slytherin'," Xander said.

Giles rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, Slytherin gets a bad reputation. It's believed by the other houses, Gryffindor in particular, that if you're sorted into Slytherin, it means you're evil."

"But didn't you tell me you go to this school when you're eleven. How can anyone know that a kid will be evil at the age of eleven?" Xander asked.

"Now you're trying to be logical, Xander, and most of Hogwarts don't understand logic," Giles said.

Dawn and Harry both snickered. Even Harry knew Giles was right about that. He loved Hogwarts and a great deal of the people who attended and taught, but they could all be rather daft. Actually, the wizarding world as a whole could be. The ministry's refusal to believe Voldemort was back was a prime example of that.

"Okay, I think I'm done with this conversation. I think this is just one of those things I'll never understand," Xander said. The more he heard, the more ridiculous it sounded.

Giles snorted. "Well, when you understand it, it means you've become a part of the idiocy. It's better that you don't understand it."

"Understand what?" Buffy asked as she and Willow came out of her room.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. It's that stupid," Xander said.

"Okay, then. You don't have to tell me twice. Breakfast, anyone?" Buffy asked.

"As long as you're not making it," Willow said.

"Yeah, I love you, Buffy, but I don't love your cooking," Dawn said.

"Here here," Xander said in agreement.

"Oh, you guys are just hilarious," Buffy said sarcastically.

"I can do it," Harry offered. He figured it was the least he could do after Buffy allowed basically his family to stay in her home.

"What? No, you don't have to do that. You're our guest," Buffy said.

"It's not a bother. I like cooking. I'm good at it," Harry asked.

"I'll give him that. He is good at it. But Buffy's right, you don't have to cook for us," Xander said. He wanted to get his brother out of the habit of thinking he had to wait on people. He knew that was what he had to do at his last home, but things were different now and he wanted to make sure Harry knew that. "Besides, I was thinking you, me, Remus, and Sirius could go out for breakfast. Get reacquainted."

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not sure I'm ready to talk to them." He was still pretty angry about the fact that Sirius and Remus hadn't told him about Xander and he wasn't quite ready to forgive them.

"Still pissed, huh? Well, you gotta talk to them eventually. Look, let's just go eat and take things from there. You don't even really have to say anything if you don't want to," Xander said.

Harry sighed. "Alright.

"Okay, come on," Xander said before leading his brother down stairs and back into the kitchen. Sirius and Remus were right where he left them. "Hey, you guys wanna head back to our place with us. We have to get a change of clothes and then I thought we'd go out for breakfast."

"Yeah, sure, pup. Um, you're not still pissed?" Sirius asked.

"I was never pissed. More like frustrated. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life, which is saying a lot, but I'm perfectly willing to forget I never heard it as long as you back off Giles," Xander said. He wouldn't tolerate any disrespect of Giles, not after everything the man had done for all of them. "So what do you say we get out of here?"

"Of course," Sirius said as he and Remus stood up. "Do you know how to apparate? No, I suppose not. We can take you side-along."

"Uh, as great as I'm sure that would be, I thought we'd use this fickle invention called a car," Xander said.

"That's a muggle contraption, right? It'll take ages. We should just apparate. It's much faster," Sirius said.

"Yes, but hazardous to my appetite," Xander as he remembered how horrible it had been when he apparated with Giles. "I think I prefer my car."

"Let's just do it his way, Sirius. It won't take that long," Remus said.

Sirius simply shrugged, indicating that it was fine with him.

"Okay, let's go," Xander said before leading the way out of the room.


	18. Chapter 18

Albus Dumbledore was having a bad day. No, correction, he was having a bad week. First, the minister had announced to the world that Sirius was innocent and declared him free. That did not work for him at all. He needed Sirius to be considered a fugitive. That way he was unable to take custody of Harry. It also made the man indebted to him for keeping him safe and out of the hands of the ministry. Now that he was free though, all bets were off. Sirius could do whatever he wanted, including taking custody of Harry.

When he'd learned of Sirius' exoneration, he'd gone to Headquarters to try to make Sirius see that he could not take Harry from his aunt and Uncle's. Unfortunately, Sirius was nowhere to be found. Dumbledore immediately went to the worst case scenario and feared that Sirius had went to get Harry. However, Arabella Figg had assured him that Sirius had been nowhere near Privet Drive. That was probably the only good thing out of the whole mess.

If all that wasn't enough, Severus had disappeared too. All his things were gone from his office and his private quarters. The only thing that he'd left was a letter of resignation on his desk. This turn of events was possibly even worse than Sirius being freed. He needed Severus. Not just for his potion making ability, but also for his spying abilities. He needed someone to be able to tell him what was going on with Voldemort.

About the only thing that was still under his control was Harry. Though he would have to go to great means to keep it that way, what with Sirius Black being free. He couldn't lose Harry. He needed the boy to deal with Voldemort, not to mention the funds he got from being the boy's guardian. That money helped him fund things he needed for the war.

That was what he was doing now. He was at Gringotts to make another withdrawal from the Potter vaults.

Dumbledore approached one of the goblin tellers at Gringotts. He immediately produced the key. "I need to make a withdrawal from the Potter vaults."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," the goblin said.

"What do you mean it's not possible? I have the key right here," Dumbledore said as he held it up. What the hell was going on? He'd been withdrawing money from the Potter accounts for nearly fourteen years now.

"Key or no key, you're not Lord Potter. Only Lord Potter can remove funds from his account," the goblin said.

"There is no Lord Potter. The current heir has yet to reach his seventeenth birthday meaning he cannot claim his title of Lord. I am his magical guardian and as such have been taking money out for years," Dumbledore said outraged.

"A mistake that has been corrected. For your information, Wizard, the true Lord Potter is of age and has taken control of his fortune."

"That's impossible! Harry Potter is just about to reach his fifteenth birthday. It will be another two years before he can claim his inheritance," Dumbledore argued.

"I didn't say Harry Potter now did I?" the gobbling asked with irritation laced in his voice.

Dumbledore froze for a moment. If the goblin didn't mean Harry then that left only one other person. But, no, that was impossible. He'd gotten rid of that child years ago. There was no way the boy made it back. He'd used his most powerful memory spell to ensure that such a thing would never happen. "Who are you referring to then?"

"The heir of Potter is Lord Alexander Potter."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Dumbledore was livid as he approached Number four, Privet Drive. He couldn't believe that little brat had made his way back. He just knew the kid was responsible for everything that was going wrong right now. Though how the boy got through the memory charm was beyond him. All he knew was that he had to get to Harry before Alexander did. Harry could not find out he had a brother, and he certainly could never meet him. That would ruin everything he'd worked so hard to do.

Dumbledore walked up to the Dursley's front door and knocked.

The door was opened a second later by Petunia, who took one look at him and shrieked. "You! Get off my property right now! Your kind isn't welcome here!"

"Hello, Petunia. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I must speak with Harry immediately."

Petunia scowled. "Don't you freaks talk to each other? One of the other freaks took him away the other day. I would think as head freak, you would know that all ready."

"What are you talking about, Petunia? Who took Harry?" Dumbledore asked in alarm. Was he too late? Had the other Potter brat already grabbed Harry? No, that couldn't be. Arabella had told him Harry was still there. Okay, well, actually, she'd told him that Sirius hadn't taken him. But surely she'd tell him if someone else had. Right?"

"I don't know. It isn't like I invited the freak in for tea. The boy said that one of you freaks were here to take him away. I never saw him, something I am eternally grateful for," Petunia said.

"You just let someone come and take your nephew away?" Dumbledore asked.

"Of course I did! If you didn't get the memo already, I don't like the boy! I have never liked him. He's nothing but another worthless freak! He should've died with his freak parents and freak brother. He's lucky I didn't drop him off at the nearest orphanage, which I would've done had it not been for your insistence," Petunia said with disgust.

It took everything in Dumbledore not to hex the vile woman. That would do him no good though. He needed to find Harry and fast. "Did Harry tell you anything about who took him, Petunia?"

"Only that it was someone from that wretched school of yours," Petunia said.

Dumbledore frowned. Someone from Hogwarts had taken Harry? That hadn't sat well with him. The people at his school were supposed to be loyal to him. It had to be Severus. He was the only one that was now gone. Though why Severus would willingly travel with Harry was beyond him.

Dumbledore quickly said goodbye to Petunia and walked away. He decided to forget Severus for a moment, as he wasn't the big problem. It was very likely that he was just the go between. He was set to bring Harry to his brother. Again, he didn't know why Severus would agree, but he could deal with that later. Right now, he needed to find Harry and bring him back, and the best way to do that was to return to where he'd left Alexander. If he found Alexander, he would find Harry.


End file.
